U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden assured Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko in a recent phone call that the United States is ready to extend $1 billion worth of loan guarantees and additional non-lethal military assistance to Kiev, the Ukrainian presidential press service has reported.

U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden assured Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko in a recent phone call that the United States is ready to extend $1 billion worth of loan guarantees and additional non-lethal military assistance to Kiev, the Ukrainian presidential press service has reported.

"Vice President Biden informed [Poroshenko] that the United States is ready to provide Ukraine with loan guarantees amounting to $1 billion as part of the financial support package in 2015. He also announced the funding of projects to send humanitarian aid to displaced persons and people affected by the war in Donbas," the press service said.

"The parties also discussed further actions in the sphere of defense, including plans to extend additional assistance to Ukraine," he said.

During the phone call, Poroshenko thanked Biden for Washington's decision to send U.S. soldiers to Ukraine to take part in the Fearless Guardian 2015 joint drills on Ukrainian soil.

"It is a new and important page that has already proven the strategic level of partnership between Ukraine and the U.S.," the Ukrainian president said.